latelenovela Chapter 119 Apply eye drops
Chapter 119 Apply eye drops
"This..." The officials kneeling below exchanged bewildered glances. The Vice Minister of War was a second-rank official, and the governor was a second-rank official. How could Shen Lian, at only twenty years old, have risen to such a high position so quickly?
"What, you have a problem with that? If anyone has the ability to defeat the foreign powers and recover the capital, I'll give him an even higher official position!" Empress Dowager Cixi said coldly.
"We dare not, Your Majesty is wise!" the officials hurriedly shouted.
"Your Majesty, what do you say?" Empress Dowager Cixi glanced at Emperor Guangxu.
"It's all up to my father!" Emperor Guangxu hurriedly replied. Having been suppressed by Empress Dowager Cixi for decades, Guangxu regarded her like a mouse before a cat. He dared not utter a single word of dissent.
"Alright, let's draft the decree like this! Tell Shen Lian to do his job diligently and expel the foreigners to recapture the capital as soon as possible. The court will not hesitate to reward him with a duke or marquisate!"
"And then there's Nie Gongting. Although he suffered a defeat earlier, considering his loyalty and hard work, he has also made contributions this time. So, his merits and demerits will be balanced, and he will be put in charge of all the troops sent to defend the capital and assist Shen Lian in recapturing the capital!"
"This father-in-law and son-in-law are truly excellent; they are both pillars of the court. Prince Qing, you have done a good deed this time!" Empress Dowager Cixi said with a slight smile.
"Hehe! It's all thanks to the Empress Dowager's discerning eye! If it weren't for your gracious favor of filling a vacancy first, I wouldn't have discovered his talent!" Yikuang said with a beaming smile.
He never expected that the position he sold for 150,000 taels of silver to him would bring him such a pleasant surprise. He now wished he could tell the whole world that Shen Lian was Yi Kuang's man.
Shen Lian simply smiled and set aside the imperial edict he received; these empty titles were of little use to him now.
Two days have passed, and he's ready to start clearing out the trapped beasts! Of course, he'll start slowly, beginning with the outer city.
When Empress Dowager Cixi received the news that Shen and Nie had breached the outer city, she was overjoyed and sent another imperial edict praising the father-in-law and son-in-law.
The capital city has a population of one million, with 80% of that living in the outer city. Slums are everywhere, and Shen Lian wondered if he should take the opportunity to clean them up.
With the battle in Beijing going smoothly, Empress Dowager Cixi, who had already arrived in Datong, was in high spirits. After dinner in the evening, she took a stroll in the garden, accompanied by her palace maids.
This was a salt merchant's estate, built in a magnificent style, which pleased Empress Dowager Cixi greatly.
As she strolled through the garden, the words of the two guards at the gate caught her attention. Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't help but quietly approach them.
A voice asked, "Er Shuan, is there any news about your brother?"
"Hey! Brother Mantun, what happened? I'm worried too! I wonder how he is now?"
"Lord Shen first led his troops to attack Tianjin, and now he's fighting a bloody battle with the foreigners in Beijing. I wonder how many of our Shandong sons will be buried in Zhili," Ershuan said, shaking his head.
"What can we do? Since we've joined the army, we must obey the orders of the imperial court."
"Brother Mantun, why is it that only our First Division went to the capital to defend the emperor this time? Which of those governors and viceroys doesn't have more troops and generals than us?" Ershuan asked.
"Hey! Those governors and viceroys have all held dozens of official positions, and they've all amassed their fortunes. Who would still be willing to risk their lives for the imperial court!"
"I heard they made an agreement with the foreigners a long time ago, just waiting for the court to fail!" Man Tun whispered.
"Aren't they afraid of being investigated by the imperial court?" Ershuan asked, puzzled.
"Heh! What are they afraid of? When the foreigners invade, their loyal troops are wiped out. Who dares to deal with them! These people all hold significant military power, so the court will just have to let them run rampant in the future."
"Putting aside everything else, just take our Shandong governor, Lord Yuan. His tens of thousands of elite soldiers are all well-equipped and well-trained. Did you see him come to the emperor's aid?" Man Tun shook his head and said.
"But we're also Shandong soldiers! We're his subordinates, so why isn't he willing to lend a hand?"
"Heh! He's not as loyal to the court as we are, sir. He probably hopes our entire army will be wiped out so he can take over our Taiwulin Road!"
“Think about it, if the Imperial Guards in the capital are gone, and our First Division is defeated, then he’ll be the only army left in Zhili and Shandong. At that point, the court will have to be mindful of his feelings. To put it bluntly, if he has any ulterior motives, hehe…” Man Tun stopped there, not finishing his sentence.
Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Cixi's face turned ashen. A palace maid beside her was about to step forward and reprimand her, but Cixi waved her hand to stop her.
"Brother Mantun, you're saying all these officials have so many ulterior motives. Why don't we adults do the same?"
Empress Dowager Cixi, who was about to turn and leave, stopped to listen to what the guards had to say.
"Hey! They're young! Think about it! We adults have never been officials before, so how would we know about these ways of officialdom? Besides, Master is a general who has fought for the court for decades, and Master Yue is the same, both are veterans of countless battles. They both think about being loyal to the court."
"People trained by generals like them don't have the cunning and scheming nature of civil officials. Alas! It's just a pity that every household in Taiwulindao will probably be in mourning this time!"
"Brother Mantun, my younger brother is only eighteen years old and not married yet!..."
Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Cixi turned and quickly left. Hearing the receding footsteps behind them, Mantun and Ershuan exchanged a smile!
At Datong City's Dadetong Draft Bank, Qiao Zhiyong saw Nie Yuanshan walk in and quickly stood up.
Nie Yuanshan had been in Datong for several days, arriving even before Empress Dowager Cixi and her entourage. He had brought Shen Lian's invitation to meet Qiao Zhiyong, but unfortunately, Qiao refused to see him.
He wasn't in a hurry, but instead arranged to meet with the owners of various banks. Unfortunately, they all avoided him.
Until the news of Shen Lian's telegram to the world announcing the recapture of Tianjin and the march towards the capital arrived, Nie Yuanshan, who was previously disliked by everyone, suddenly became a hot commodity. All the managers who had previously avoided him came to pay their respects. Unfortunately for them, it was now Nie Yuanshan's turn to be in control.
He only agreed to come after Qiao Zhiyong personally invited him to dinner!
"Mr. Nie, I'm so sorry for the neglect! I haven't been in Datong these past few days and only arrived today." Qiao Zhiyong stood up and apologized to Nie Yuanshan as soon as he saw him.
"Hey! It's nothing! It's normal for Mr. Qiao to be busy with his business. But I'm just an idle person who has nothing to do all day!" It would be strange if Nie Yuanshan wasn't angry. If his superiors hadn't given him instructions beforehand, he would have stormed off long ago.
With your current status, if you were to retake the capital, dealing with such a nouveau riche would be a piece of cake. And yet you dare to act so high and mighty in front of me.
"Haha! No matter what, it's all my fault. I'll punish myself with three drinks to apologize to Mr. Nie."
Qiao Zhiyong knew that his previous negligence had offended the other party, and now he could only try his best to make amends. That Lord Shen was too powerful; he, with his small frame, really couldn't afford to offend him.